Power

Sempra executives, parent of Oncor, expressed support for Texas Gov. Abbott's data center interconnection pause during an earnings call, citing needs for durable outcomes amid public opposition, with uncertainty over timelines for Oncor's 44 GW of Batch Zero-qualified large-load projects in its territory. The pause halts ERCOT's Batch Zero review process for projects meeting new criteria, leaving Oncor's $47.5 billion capital plan excluding related spending for now. This reflects broader scrutiny of inflated load forecasts in ERCOT's 474 GW queue, where 90% are data centers, as the utility navigates alignment of load with new generation. Read →

Intense heat is expected to push MISO peak demand near 121 GW on Wednesday, close to its 127.1 GW record, while PJM faces similar strain across its 13-state footprint serving 67 million people. The U.S. Department of Energy authorized PJM late Tuesday to direct backup generation as a last resort before a Level 3 energy emergency alert, following PJM's Maximum Generation and Load Management alerts for Sept. 2 and a continuing Hot Weather Alert through Sept. 3. This tightens real-time conditions in the largest U.S. power market already stressed by surging data-center loads. Read →

Negative electricity prices rose in the first half of 2026 across major European markets including EPEX SPOT zones, up about 2% from 2025 records and over 13 times 2022 levels, driven by high solar output exceeding midday demand. France saw the most negative hours due to strong nuclear baseload; Germany experienced wider spreads supporting battery economics with daily peaks above €650/MWh. The trend pressures solar PPAs and accelerates storage deployment as evening scarcity pricing intensifies from gas-fired ramping. Read →

PJM filed a proposal at FERC on Friday for a one-time reliability backstop auction running Sept. 30 to Oct. 21 to procure new capacity against the 6.8 GW shortfall from its prior base residual auction. The filing targets surging data-center load forecasts, with PJM estimating potential growth of up to 70 GW by 2038, and includes a bilateral contracting process that could reduce the auction target. The proposal sets a $555/MW-day price cap and would allocate costs across PJM zones. Read →

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed ERCOT and state regulators to audit all proposed data centers in the interconnection queue, halting new grid connections until verification of ownership, power use, water consumption, and incentives. Requests have surged from 48 GW in 2023 to more than 474 GW currently, with about 90% from data centers, more than five times ERCOT’s record peak demand. ERCOT delayed its Batch Zero transmission planning study in response. Read →

Monitoring Analytics reported that data-center load forecasts accounted for $6.5 billion, or 40%, of the $16.4 billion in costs from PJM’s December capacity auction. Across the last three auctions, data-center forecasts beyond existing loads drove $21.3 billion, or 45%, of the $47.2 billion total cleared capacity cost. The monitor stated data-center growth is the primary driver of tight supply-demand conditions, high prices, and shortfalls. Read →

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an audit of 474 GW of ERCOT large-load interconnection requests, 90% data centers, pausing Batch Zero study deadlines. BNEF estimates the pause affects nearly 49.8 GW of projects, or about 20% of the US data-center pipeline, with potential revenue losses up to $8 billion by Q1 2027 if extended. The audit examines power sourcing, water use and incentives, delaying new interconnections until verification completes by December. Read →

Ascend Analytics projects ERCOT peak demand could reach 120 GW by 2030, up >30% from the July 22 record, but far below ERCOT’s own forecasts due to interconnection and generation supply constraints. The large-load queue has grown >200 GW since 2024, driven by data centers and other industrials, with >80% of new loads lacking matching generation by 2030. ERCOT’s energy-only market and rising costs make scarcity pricing alone insufficient to attract needed new capacity. Read →

PJM issued a Hot Weather Alert for its entire region from Aug 31 through Sept 2 ahead of expected hot and humid weather. The alert directs members to defer maintenance and prepare for higher demand. This coincides with real-time LMPs showing spikes, such as BGE at $719/MWh and PJM-RTO at $401/MWh in recent hours, reflecting stress from summer peaks and large loads. Read →

Storm Goretti drove higher-than-expected demand and cut wind output, pushing German EPEX baseload intraday prices to €90.44/MWh and French prices to €87.35/MWh, up from Thursday closes. UK day-ahead baseload rose £3.50 to £87.50/MWh. Lower wind and nuclear availability supported the move amid the weather event. Read →

PJM's July Base Residual Auction procured 138,318 MW but fell 6,831 MW short of the reliability requirement for the 2028/29 delivery year. The grid operator proposed a Reliability Backstop Procurement to secure additional resources up to a $555 per MW-day cap starting Sept. 30. The shortfall stems from surging large-load demand, primarily data centers, highlighting ongoing supply constraints in the largest US grid. Read →

Wholesale electricity prices in June 2026 stayed near the lower end of yearly ranges across most US RTO hubs including PJM, MISO, and ERCOT. PJM showed the widest monthly price range from $36/MWh to $216/MWh. Peak demand in several markets approached or hit 12-month highs, driven by summer loads. Read →

ERCOT real-time settlement point prices on Aug 27 ranged mostly between $35/MWh and $80/MWh in early hours with no major spikes reported. The grid managed non-spin deployments earlier but recalled resources by midnight. Demand remained elevated but stable without emergency alerts. Read →

BNEF estimates Texas Gov. Abbott's audit of 300 data center projects in ERCOT's Batch Zero queue could delay 49.8 GW of load and impose $15 billion in costs on developers. The review, ordered Aug. 3, verifies project readiness, ownership, water use and community impact before any new connections proceed. ERCOT has paused key interconnection milestones while the audit runs through at least December, leaving the 474 GW queue, 90% data centers, stalled and raising financing and construction risks for hyperscalers. Read →

Average all-in consumer electricity price on the Dutch market reached €0.3017/kWh on Aug 24, up 28.4% from the prior day with the EPEX spot component driving the move. Prices varied hourly from a low of €0.1683/kWh at 13:00 to €0.3901/kWh at 20:00. The spike reflects tighter conditions ahead of cooler forecasts for Aug 25 that point to sharply lower prices. Read →

Wholesale power prices in the Western US fell as much as $62/MWh day-over-day on Aug 25 as a heat wave exits the region. CAISO NP15 and SP15 on-peak day-ahead LMPs hit multi-month highs earlier in the week (up to $63.34/MWh) on elevated cooling demand before cooling. Pacific Northwest and Desert Southwest ICE on-peak prices also declined sharply for Aug 26 delivery. Read →

ERCOT plans to finish verifying and auditing all data center projects in its interconnection queue by Dec. 10, following Gov. Greg Abbott's Aug. 3 directive. The queue holds 474 GW of requests, 90% from data centers. The audit must complete before any projects advance, delaying Batch Zero studies and potentially tightening near-term supply additions in Texas. Read →

SPP declared a Resource Advisory for both East and West Balancing Authority Areas effective Aug. 24 at 10 a.m./noon CT through Aug. 28 midnight due to forecast uncertainty, potential high loads, and severe hot weather that could lower wind/solar output. Operators must use extended unit commitment timelines; no public conservation required but reliability procedures activated. Read →

PJM filed Aug. 13 at FERC for an Interim Resource Adequacy Service (IRAS) allowing new large loads (≥50 MW peak) to connect without full capacity backing while making uncovered demand curtailable ahead of other resources during tight conditions. The filing addresses the 6,831 MW shortfall from the 2028/29 capacity auction cleared at the $325/MW-day cap and follows a July 31 backstop procurement proposal. Data-center-driven load growth underpins the moves, with PJM forecasting up to 70 GW of additional large-load demand by 2038. Read →

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an audit of the ERCOT queue totaling 474 GW (90% data centers), prompting ERCOT to delay its Batch Zero transmission planning study for the first large-load projects under new rules. ERCOT requested good-cause exceptions from the Public Utility Commission of Texas at its Aug. 20 meeting; the pause affects energization approvals for projects ≥75 MW peak and could delay timelines for developers reassessing viability. Read →

PJM is evaluating expanded interconnection reliability requirements including ride-through standards for computational loads after 3,800 MW of data centers tripped offline in northern Virginia on July 22 following a 230-kV line fault in Dominion’s zone. The largest such event in PJM history caused load to drop from 99,984 MW to 96,205 MW with voltage/frequency swings; operators restored balance within NERC timelines. The review aligns with broader NERC efforts on standards for these facilities. Read →

BloombergNEF reports MISO, serving 45 million people across 15 Midwest states, surpassed PJM in installed electric supply capacity due to rapid solar additions in states like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. PJM previously led until last year. The shift comes amid rising demand from data centers and manufacturing, with solar and storage driving most new US capacity additions. Read →

UK CPI rose to 2.9% YoY in July from 2.6%, matching forecasts, driven by a 13% increase in the energy price cap that lifted household bills. The jump ended a period of lower inflation and was only partly offset by cheaper motor fuel. A separate Bloomberg report flagged household energy costs heading toward a three-year high. Read →

PJM's August 13 FERC filing creates a conditional framework allowing new 50 MW+ loads (primarily data centers) to interconnect before full capacity is online, provided unsupported demand is subject to priority curtailment. It establishes a registry for tracking loads and proposes changes to capacity auctions starting 2029/30 to exclude unsupported incremental load from procurement needs. The plan responds to 30 GW of projected data-center-driven demand growth through 2030 amid ongoing reliability shortfalls. Read →

A SemiAnalysis analysis argues PJM underestimated reliable winter capacity by 4 GW due to modeling choices on gas plant performance and outages, inflating recent capacity auction prices and creating an artificial shortfall signal worth billions to ratepayers across two auctions. Read →

PJM Interconnection proposed a framework requiring data centers and large loads to switch to backup generators when grid supply tightens, prioritizing traditional customers. The move follows a recent capacity auction that hit the $325/MW-day cap but cleared 6.8 GW short of the reliability target. PJM also seeks a registry tracking data-center locations and usage to manage growing AI-driven demand across its 13-state footprint. Read →

PJM is evaluating interconnection reliability requirements including ride-through standards for computational loads like data centers and crypto facilities. The review follows a July 22 transmission fault in Dominion's Northern Virginia zone that caused nearly 3,800 MW of data center load to transfer to onsite generation in two waves, creating voltage and frequency swings. PJM recovered within nine minutes; the event, the largest of its kind, highlights how large loads can now act as a reliability variable, prompting stakeholder process review ahead of broader NERC standards. Read →

PJM and Dominion are reviewing the July 22 event where a cleared 230 kV line fault triggered about 3,800 MW of Northern Virginia data center load to switch to backup generation. The sudden demand drop forced rapid generation reductions and reactive power deployment; PJM recovered its control error in nine minutes. The grid operator is assessing enhanced reliability requirements for voltage/frequency ride-through, protection coordination, telemetry, and reconnection behavior for existing and future large loads. Read →

ERCOT hit a record 91 GW peak load amid summer conditions and ongoing data center/AI demand growth. The report notes supply constraints will limit realized peak demand growth versus aggressive forecasts, with natural gas inventories at highs. Large-load interconnection activity remains a key driver of long-term grid planning in Texas. Read →

On July 22 a mechanical fault on a 230 kV line in Northern Virginia caused 3,800 MW of computational loads (data centers) to unexpectedly disconnect and switch to backup generation, the largest such event in PJM history. This produced sharp voltage and frequency spikes that PJM operators corrected within minutes, but it exposed ride-through vulnerabilities on the load side. PJM and Dominion are now evaluating enhanced interconnection reliability requirements and ride-through standards for large computational loads ahead of FERC/ NERC rulemaking. Read →

ERCOT’s real-time dashboard showed current demand around 86,700 MW with operating reserves above 18,000 MW and normal grid conditions as of August 11. Day-ahead and real-time hub prices traded in the low-to-mid $20s, $40s/MWh range. The operator continues to manage a massive interconnection queue dominated by data centers, with forecasts pointing to demand roughly doubling by 2032. Read →

PJM proposed to FERC that states handle data center interconnection and curtailment decisions rather than the grid operator. The plan includes a limited emergency reliability backstop procurement auction to address the 6.8 GW shortfall from the latest capacity auction. Capacity costs hit $16.4 billion, driving up consumer bills as data center demand surges. Read →

ERCOT continues processing large-load requests, with data centers dominating the queue at 95% share. New protocols target 75 MW+ projects under SB6, requiring studies and commitments. Demand growth pressures grid reliability as solar, wind, and batteries help meet current loads near 62,500 MW. Read →

Gov. Abbott's order pauses new ERCOT data center connections pending audit of 474 GW queue, mostly data centers. Delays could hit 49.8 GW and cost up to $15 billion per BNEF analysis. Advanced projects targeting Q1/Q2 2027 energization may preserve timelines post-audit starting after Aug. 20. Read →

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a comprehensive audit of data center projects in ERCOT's interconnection queue on Aug. 3, prompting ERCOT to delay scheduled Batch Zero classification notices from Aug. 7 and seek a good-cause exception at the Aug. 20 PUCT meeting. The queue holds roughly 474 GW of requests, about 90% from data centers, more than five times the state's record peak demand of 91 GW. The pause affects pending projects' timelines and visibility for 2027 but spares already-approved capacity and fully off-grid on-site generation setups. Read →